Memories in the Rain
by SouPi
Summary: [AU] What if it was Ichigo who died those 6 years ago instead of his mother? Growing up among the ranks of the Shinigami, he returns to world entirely different then he knew before...
1. Rainy Day

What's up yo?

Heh, I've always wanted to say that! XD

This is my first Bleach fic ever; so sorry if the characters seem a little OOC. I've fallen in love with this anime since I saw the intro with Asterisk- Orange Range. When I saw Ichigo swinging his giant Zanpaktou around, I knew that this would be my new obsession.

Did anyone see the Omake: Memories in the rain? (Yes, I've shamelessly taken the title from that episode. . .) It was SO sad! A lot of parts were funnier, but everything else was more angst.

**_WARNING:_** If you haven't read to the end of Chapter 187, there's going to be hints of spoilers at the end. I'm telling you, the series gets better and better as it goes on.

If you're wondering where to find the Manga, here's the websites: copy and paste. I find those websites the best for Manga.

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish to own Bleach, it will never come true.

- - - - -

If I were the rain that binds together the Earth and the Sky who in all eternity will never mingle, would I be able to bind the hearts of people together? Kurosaki-kun, I feel like I can understand you a little bit more- Inoue Orihime

- - - - -

_It was raining that day. . . Contrast to what I felt inside my heart. . ._

Laughing as little Ichigo ran ahead of his mother, his cherub face rosy red from excitement and delight, the orange haired boy jumped into every puddle he saw. "Kaachan! Kaachan! Hurry up!" He stipulated loudly, turning his head. As cross as he tried to sound, his demand sounded more like a plea.

Of course he loved his mother too much to be ever angry with her! How can ANYONE get mad at Okaasan? She was too perfect, too nice, and too kind to be EVER fractious at.

Smiling that gentle smile of hers that he adored, Kurosaki Masaki nodded at her impatient boy. "I'll try, Ichigo-chan. Perhaps that you're just too fast for your old mother. . ." She trailed off, amused at the look of horror that the young child gave her appallingly.

"Kaachan is not too old! She's perfect!" Ichigo protested, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly. Chocolate brown orbs narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed into a dark line above his childish image. It was as close to scowling as he could get.

_It was true. . . There was no other wonderful person in the world then her. Back then I was such a little kid. . ._

Her hand went to her mouth as Masaki stifled a chuckle. Oh, if she laughed now poor Ichigo would never forgive her! But he was so adorable with his lips pursed together to form a look mixed between a pout and of adoration. "How kind of my Ichigo-chan to say that. Now if you would only say that to your father. . ."

"Oyaji is too weird. Kaachan is a billion times better then him!" Ichigo's blue hood slipped off his head, his bright eyes brimming with hope that his mother would agree and kiss his forehead saying that Ichigo-chan would always be number one in her life.

The nine-year-old wasn't disappointed as his Okaasan slipped her cool hand under his chin and tilted his head up. Her lips brushed against the top of his head, as the woman murmured, "And my Ichigo-chan will always be my number one in my life."

_I always loved it when she said that. It made me feel really special inside- like I was the only thing in her life._

Grinning happily, he started to run ahead again- forgetting entirely why he had stopped in the first place. It was drizzling lightly, the stormy gray sky churned in a mad whirlpool of dark clouds in the heavens above.

Holding his folded orange umbrella out to the side as he splashed along, the boy was eager to return home. He loved rainy days like this: It meant that there would be a special treat when they entered the kitchen, sopping wet.

Slipping when Ichigo skidded across the slick sidewalk, he fell forwards into the puddle he was running through. Cold water soaked his entire face and his palms stung with pain from hitting the concrete when he tripped. The orange-haired child willed himself not to cry: He was a big boy now! Getting a little wet should be no reason to let tears fall.

Masaki's heart jumped to her throat when she saw her son slip. It was instinct really- all mothers had it and she was no exception. "Ichigo-chan! Are you all right? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" She pulled out a lavender handkerchief and wiped the water away with tender gentleness.

Ichigo stared at his mother with awe. From his short vintage point, she looked like an angel with the light at her back- and the umbrella balancing carefully on her shoulder seemed to give him the impression of wings. All he needed was the holy white feathers to prove his theory.

"There! All dry! My, what a brave boy you are for not crying!" Masaki praised him, like she always did. However, there was more to that this time- he was so sure that he also heard some relief somewhere buried within her words.

Beaming proudly, Ichigo felt his heart swell with pride. Of course he didn't cry, he was a man! The only time (times) he cried was when Tatsuki-chan beat him up at karate- and it was with good reason! Her punches hurt!

Whenever I started to shed tears, she was always there for me. I felt really safe in her arms, with her telling me that everything was going to be all right. . . And I believed her.

Taking his mother's soft hand, Ichigo walked at a slower pace then usual. The urgency to rush home was now replaced with the need to preserve this moment forever. "What's for dinner?" He asked, trudging through the wet track.

"Hmm, what would you like?" Masaki teased her son by pretending to be clueless. Of course she knew what he wanted to have- what they always had whenever the given chance. For a child his age, it had always fascinated her that Ichigo could eat a large amount of spicy things that most adults could not.

"Spicy Barbeque Spare Ribs and Miso-shiru!" The boy's mouth stretched into a wide grin, his pearly white teeth set against reddish pink lips. "Kaachan makes the best food ever! If I ever die, I want to have Spicy Barbeque Spare Ribs and Miso-shiru before I go to heaven!"

The mother laughed at his serious manner, affectionately ruffling his orange locks. "For that, I'll never make you Spicy Barbeque Spare Ribs and Miso-shiru again. That way, my Ichigo will never leave me." She humored the nine-year-old.

His brown eyes widened in shock- the poor boy fervently shook his head. "Iie! I will never leave Kaachan! Even if you promised me my favorite foods every day of the week!"

"Oh Ichigo-chan, I'm just kidding. Tonight, I'll make you the best dinner ever." Masaki smiled, closing her eyes just for a second as if taking a mental picture of her and Ichigo waking home in the rain. "And for desert, we'll have chocolate cake. Does that sound yummy to you?"

"Hai!"

_How long had it been now? Six years? Feh, time seems to run together now; once you're in Soul Society, time doesn't really matter. June 17th. . . how can I ever forget that day. . . _

The two took the long way home, choosing to go past the overhang and walk by the swelling river. Ichigo stopped to stare at the normally sapphire blue waterway that was now a dark and murky strip of raging water. He shook his head, letting the rainwater spray everywhere. Not like that made a difference- the drizzle earlier before was now a steady beat of falling rain.

"Let's hurry, Ichigo-chan. It's getting quite cold. We can't have you falling sick now, can we?" Her strides quickened, and the little child was hard pressed to keep up. Something in her nagged her- telling her to get away from this wretched place! Take Ichigo and run, woman! Her instincts screamed at her, causing her to move even faster.

The orange-haired boy with his little blue hood over his head blinked the rain out of his eyes. His little heart beat faster and faster, until it was all he heard. Not even the sweet voice of his mother reached his ears. A strangled cry wretched from his throat.

A young girl, an Oneesan with short cropped black hair wearing the oddest of clothes stood on the edge of the river- looking as if she would jump in at any given second. As the wind picked up, it rocked that frail body back and forth, teetering her fate against life or death.

For the first time, he pulled his hand away from hers. There was no way in hell that he was going to let someone die! His brown eyes set in determination while running down the steep grassy side of the channel.

Maybe it hadn't occurred to me then that why hadn't my mother seen her? Or why she had no feet. All that mattered was being the little hero of the day. . . What an idiot I was!

Ichigo's small hand passed through the hem of her cloak, just as the Oneesan jumped into the boiling wrath of rage. Shock; like a bucket of cold water froze his heart- then it beat faster then ever, pounding against his ribcage. Dimly he heard Kaachan screaming his name over and over.

He was going to fall into the river! That Oneesan was already dead! What about his Mother? Where was she?

"KAACHAN! HELP ME!" Ichigo shrieked, his arms failing about trying to keep his balance. The poor little boy felt someone grabbing his hood, pulling him back to safety. "Kaachan. . ." He dared to breathe, starting to feel light-headed and dizzy.

"Ichigo, oh Ichigo. . ." Masaki clung onto him for all she had worth, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry. . . I'm so sorry. . . Please forgive me! Ichigo, you'll be all right! I promise! ICHIGO!" She sobbed into his blue rain jacket, hugging him and showering the boy with kisses.

He felt so weak right now. . .

And why was there blood all over him?

The numb pain all over his body. . .

The last thing he remembered seeing was the train going by on the overpass, rain getting into his tired eyes. Oh how he wished to wipe them away, but right now he was so exhausted.

'Mask? It's so scary. . . Why is Kaachan crying? Don't cry! Kaachan! The mask! Watch out for the mask!' Ichigo wanted to shout- to tell his mother to run away!

That mask over her shoulder was evil. . . it's eerie glowing crimson eyes seemed to curve into sickening sickles of pleasure and absolute delight.

"Kaachan. . ." Whispered the ginger-haired child, grasping her hand. "Please. . . I love you. . ." Ichigo wanted to sleep, but he couldn't! Not with that monster around! "Run. . . Kaachan. . ."

"ICHIGO!" Masaki wailed his name, hugging him even tighter. "SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! HELP! MY SON NEEDS HELP! ANYBODY. . ."

A flash of metal and the tortured howls of a hurt being were the last things the young child registered properly before peaceful darkness closed his eyes for him; taking him far away from this rainy nightmare.

_When I came to, I was all alone. It was still raining- I was cold and miserable all over. It never came to mind that I actually might be. . . _

"Kaachan? Where are you?" He wandered up and down that river, looking for his mother. Telling himself that she would never leave without him, Ichigo reassured himself. "Kaachan will never go home without me!"

The child stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed that there was a broken chain hanging out from his chest. Daring to prod the metal links, Ichigo made a squeaking sound. "What is this? This isn't right. . ." He started to tremble; whether out of fear or exhaustion he couldn't tell the difference.

"No, it's perfectly normal. Your chain of fate has broken, which means that you are no longer among the living. . ." A feminine voice, although certainly not his kaachan, made him whirl around. Her pale complexion contrasted greatly with her black. . . What in the world WAS she wearing? It looked like she was some samurai from his Manga books! Calm deep violet eyes gauged the orange-haired kid, as her dark hair seemed perfectly dry amidst the rain.

Ichigo started to sniff, his eyes watering with tears. "Wh-what do you m-mean? A-am I dead?" The boy started to whimper softly, fruitlessly failing to stop crying. Bawling loudly, Ichigo half expected his kaachan to come back from where ever she was and he would stop sobbing for her as he embraced her in her arms.

No, no, No! Gods, she HATED it when they started to cry! Raging rabid Hollows she could easily deal with- a drunken Urahara WITH an even more drunken Shunsui was no more trouble then threatening them with a Zanpaktou (With help from Ise-san)- hell, even striking up a conversation with her Niisama was a walk in the park when it came down to this!

"Well yes. . ." Ichigo's wailing even reached a higher volume. Frantically thinking of a way to quiet the upset thing, she clasped her hands together. "Let's see. . . I bet you're a really good boy who doesn't cry!" She attempted to smile, in hopes of him stop his howling.

Of course, it didn't work. Ichigo wanted his mother, and no one else. He didn't want to talk to this weird lady, for God's sakes! He wasn't even supposed to talk to strangers! It was only reasonable when he cried even louder.

"Listen, gaki! You are going to SOUL Society whether you like it or not!" The fearsome lady brandished her sword, swinging it around. "So quit crying and TRY to make my job a bit easier!" The air around her suddenly chilled to freezing temperature- little snowflakes started to drift around.

Immediately, the boy stifled his tears. Ichigo stared at the scary woman with wide eyes. "Who are you?" He asked, wiping his face with his sleeves. She looked like she was part of the night, maybe even related to the bogey monster under his bed. His hypothesis could have been correct- all that black and an intimidating sword at her side. . .

"I'm a Shinigami. My job is to escort souls into Soul Society. . . as well as defeat Hollows- much like that monster that. . ." She trailed off, thoughtfully considerate of what she said for a change. "Kozo, if you do not wish to go through something scary like that again. . . then go to the afterlife already!"

There, she was proud of herself. Her words were much more gentler and much more edited from the real version. She could have easily said: 'Listen you sniveling little brat! Grow a backbone and shut the hell up! If I don't do my job, I'll get demoted and you'll be eaten by a freak'n Hollow and presto! You'll become one just like them!'

Her hand went to her Zanpaktou, but stopped as she saw the determined look dancing in the boy's eyes deeply buried within all that fear. "Shinigami-san, but before I go. . . Can I say bye-bye to my family?" He quietly asked. His sad brown orbs looked downcast, almost regretful.

Of course Ichigo wasn't going to cry- he couldn't. Or else the scary Shinigami-san would get mad again. Ichigo watched as the terrifying lady in black furrowed her brows together.

The God of death's violet eyes narrowed in calculation as she speculated the kid's fate. Bah, this was one of the more stubborn ones. "Fine, do as you wish brat." The Shinigami turned around and left the boy to his own thoughts. Before the child could blink, she was gone- like the whisper of the wind. A black butterfly fluttered behind in her wake, and then it too disappeared.

The stupid gaki would learn. And then she can send him off to Soul Society with no regrets at all. However, her dark violet eyes softened at the orange-haired boy's determined gaze. He reminded her so much of _him_. . .

_Of course, I ran back home. Of course, I thought that everything was going to be okay now. Of course, I was so wrong. . ._

Ichigo panted as he finally reached his house. Soft white puffs of breath came out of his mouth as he stood there, slightly apprehensive at the dark aura that seemed to surround the place. The only light came from the kitchen window so the orange-haired boy hurriedly ran to it, standing on his tiptoes to peer over the windowsill.

Even though the window was closed, he could still hear the muffled voices of his parents. His smile shrunk into a worried frown. This was bad- Kaachan was _crying_. In his _Oyaji's _arms. Kaachan never cries, and neither looked for comfort in Kurosaki Isshin.

Ever.

"Oh Anata! What's going to happen now? It's all my fault! How can my Ichigo be. . ." She sobbed, her heart wrenching weeping made the boy flinch guiltily even though he had no idea what he did wrong.

"Hush, Masaki. Ichigo will. . ." The man trailed off, as if he was holding onto a secret that no one knew. "He's a strong boy, and right now- our son needs you more then ever. "Don't cry for his death. He'll be happy in Soul- heaven. Heaven of course! No better place then good 'ole heaven!" Isshin thumped his chest, his nostrils flaring.

"Kaasan? Where's Ichi-nii?" Karin asked from the kitchen doorway, Yuzu behind her as well. "We want our bedtime story! Ichi-nii promised to read us a book tonight! Where is he?"

"Karin, honey. . . Yuzu, sweetheart. . . I'm afraid that you brother won't be able to read you a story tonight." Masaki gathered her daughters in her arms, drawing them closer to a tight hug. Her tearstained face was quickly replaced with a happy smile that they all knew and loved.

Shaking the rain from his head, Ichigo yelled loudly, "Karin! Yuzu! Kaachan! I'm right here!" He pounded on the thick glass. "I'm right here!" The water-trodden boy wiped his face, but it rained even harder and it made no difference.

Yuzu, the youngest one suddenly pointed at the kitchen window. "Kaasan, I think that there's something out there!"

All heads turned to where Ichigo had his face pressed against the pane. Karin's face scrunched into a frown, shaking her head. "Jeeze Yusu. Don't scare me like that! There's nothing there. . . But it sure does feel like something's hanging around the front yard."

"Yuzu, it's not nice to lie. Haven't I told you that?" Masaki chided the youngest one with a gentle tongue, pushing her bangs back. She smiled at Karin who looked away, embarrassed to be caught jealous.

Isshin chuckled, picking up both his little girls with one arm. "Ha, ha, ha! Do my little girls think that they can see ghosts? No fear, Daddy's here! Ha, ha, ha-" The man stopped his mad laughter to see that the women in his family had left the kitchen. Masaki had Karin and Yuzu by their hands as they sat down in the living room.

Stoned, Isshin turned white as he played with his fingers. "Oh why must you all be so cold?" Sighing, the black haired man opened the refrigerator for a can of beer. Or maybe something a bit stronger was needed for this occasion.

Ichigo didn't even have to turn his head to look at who approached him. "Hey, Shinigami-san. . . I think that I'm ready to go." Orange hair shadowed his dark eyes, rain streaming down his cheeks- but he wasn't crying. This time, it really was the rain.

The God of Death looked gently at the boy with kind eyes. She pitied souls like these. . . they had so much before they lost it all. Especially young spirits like him- they had so much to live for.

"It's not Shinigami. . . My name is Kuchiki Rukia." The lady said in a quiet voice. She slowly drew her blade out of its sheath, ready to perform the burial ritual to send this boy to Soul Society.

"Well, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo." The child responded with equal gravity, bowing his head. "Well, sayonara . . . Karin, Yuzu, Kaachan. . . and you too, Oyaji." His body felt light and warm, the coldness that had set in his bones was lifted away. He disappeared in a portal of warm blue light.

Putting her weapon away, Rukia lifted her face to the crying heavens. "Good bye, Ichigo." She walked away into the wet world, rain falling on her lonely face. Really, she wasn't crying- honestly she wasn't. If Ichigo didn't cry, then she had no right to at all.

Shutting the refrigerator door, Isshin grimly raised his sake bottle- a silent toast. "Keep him safe, eh Kuchiki Rukia-san? Bah, he'd better turn out to be at least Vice-Captain the next time I see him. No son of mine is going to be any less! Well, cheers to you Ichigo!" He declared, feeling highly pleased with himself. Isshin chugged the alcohol from the bottle, wiping his mouth afterwards. "Ah, that hits the spot!"

_Feh, I should have known better. Who would have known my entire life would be turned upside-down when it ended? Oyaji shouldn't have worried- I fitted in with Soul Society just a little too well. . . _

"Vice-captain! Vice-captain! Urahara-Taichou is calling for you!" The messenger arrived with flourish; a whirl of Reiatsu swirled around where he had appeared to 'teleported'. Bowing his head deeply at the lieutenant, he waited for the Shinigami to respond.

"Eh? Now what does he what?" The Vice-captain drawled in a bored manner, slowly getting up to his feet. Hefting his enormous Zanpaktou over his back, the wind billowing through his black uniform. "Don't tell me it's another one of his meetings, is it? Cause if it is, I'm gonna be hella pissed off."

"Err…" The messenger had nothing more to say.


	2. My Brother's Ghost

Thank you for all your reviews! I feel so loved!

Bleh, school's starting and I'm going to die this year. SAT and stupid AP history. . . And I have the worst teachers possible! TT

Wish me luck. . . And don't expect so many frequent updates now. I'll do my best to keep writing.

Oh yeah, the websites didn't show up for the last chapter, so just copy and paste (Take out the spaces first!)

www. Bleach7. com

www. Bleachportal. com

www. stoptazmo. com

www. bleachdi. com

Disclaimer: If Bleach was mine, I wouldn't be writing this fic.

- - - - -

Kurosaki Karin was not having a good day. No, in fact she was in an extremely irritated mood that made her want to scream in frustration and go on a childish rampage. How could THIS happen!

Stomp.

Stomp.

Stomp. Oh darn, she squished a bug. . .

The black-haired girl purposely stomped her worn out sneakers against the pavement as hard as she could not caring if the stupid insect was now nothing more but a memory of a smear across the pavement.

_Stupid boys! I'm a thousand times better then them! How could they do this to me! _Karin fumed with rage as she started to squeeze her soccer ball harder and harder until air started to leak out of the seams. "I'll get them. . . They'll be sorry! Gah! I HATE boys!"

The eleven-year old felt cheated. She made a face- girls could play soccer as well as boys! But NO. . . Those buttheads think that they could have an 'all boy's' game and NOT have the star player on their team. . . Wait until she got her golden opportunity. Those morons won't know what hit them!

"Ch, who wants to play with them anyways? They're just dumb guys." Karin muttered to herself, as she couldn't help but shiver. Her arms prickled with Goosebumps, as an unseen force seemed to be breathing down her neck. The streets seemed to become darker and far more frightening even if the sun was going down.

The street lamps flickered on and off, as it created shadows that were monster-like. Karin's eyes narrowed slightly, shaking her fist in the air. "All right! Who's there? Come out or I'll let you have some of this! I'm warning you. . ."

A sinister chuckle hissed from the darkness that it was a part of, unheard by the girl. Oh soon, soon it'll feast upon her sweet soul. Little children were the most satisfying by far. So young and tender. . . it couldn't wait.

On the other side of the street, a tall figure wearily sighed and ran his hand through his bleached hair. "Man, I finally found you. Now all I have to do is use Zangetsu and. . ." A sudden realization made him visibly blanch. "Damn it! When I get back, I'm going to KILL that bastard Urahara!"

- - - - - (Earlier that Day) - - - - -

"Ah. So nice of you to join me today!" Urahara greeted his Vice-Captain with his usual cheerful manner by waving his fan around. "As you can see, today's meeting will only consist of. . . us!" You could practically see the bubbly heart at the end of his sentence.

His eyebrows knitted together into an agitated furrow, the said so young man scowled darkly and helped himself to a seat. "Now what the hell do you want Urahara?"

Shaking his index finger disapprovingly, the blonde haired man tittered, "It's _Captain_ Urahara. My, my. . . Have you already forgotten your manners boy?" He hid his beaming smile with his white fan, immensely enjoying his young protégé's strangled scowl.

"Meh, whatever." The irritated Shinigami glowered unpleasantly at his elated fool of a captain. "What do you want now?" He set a steely glare that promised excruciating pain if Urahara didn't start explaining himself in about three seconds. "If it's another wild goose chase after ANOTHER _nonexistent_ Hollow, I'm officially gonna request to old man Yamamoto to put me in another squad."

The Vice Captain stressed the word 'nonexistent'. Gods knew how he put up of THREE DAYS of nothing but rain and snow to find out that it was his twisted Captain's way of having fun watching him flounder around lost in the middle of nowhere.

Sounding slightly wounded, Urahara dramatically pulled out a piece of paper with flourish from his Captain's Haori. "Don't you have any faith? It's rather a long-term assignment that you'll find rather interesting. . . I trust that you can find an extra Gigai in the Laboratories, I'm afraid that you'll be needing one."

Suspiciously reading the contents over the Soul Reaper's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious! Is this kind of thing allowed? And why the HELL do I need a faux body?"

"Now, now. . . I'm sure that you can see this as a way to rejoin human society again, at least for the time being. There's been numerous reports that more Hollows are appearing in the human world, but the Shinigami can't track them down in time." Urahara replied gravely, his gray orbs showing no traces of humor.

Realization dawned on the younger Shinigami's face. "Ch, I get it. And do you know what? THAT'S THE MOST GOD DAMN STUPIDEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD FROM YOU! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?"

Not at all listening to the other's ranting, Urahara found his fingernails to be more interesting. "Hmm? Do you know what's quite fascinating? I overheard from your former classmates that you had an _interesting_ little name that you haven't told me yet. . . **'Crybaby Ichi'** was it? Hmm? Quite the title, I wonder why though?"

"All right! All right! I'm leaving already!" He stormed out of the room, making sure to slam the door extra hard. If Urahara didn't know any better, he could have sworn that his Vice Captain was flushing crimson.

Slyly looking out of the corner of his eyes, he snapped his fan shut. "And how long have you been there. . . Yoruichi-san?" The man grinned slightly while pretending to feign naivety.

"Long time no see, Kisuke." The woman stepped out from the shadows as she winked at the blonde haired captain. "So, what are you planning now?" Yoruichi covertly asked as she slightly smirked at the man.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Urahara batted his eyelashes together innocently, fanning himself again. "Whatever can Yoruichi-san mean? Am I doing something wrong?" He grinned widely at his old friend, knowing that she wasn't fooled for a second.

Giving him a studious stare, before carefully inspecting her fingernails. "You know, I'm glad that you stopped your _research_ on _that_. They would had kicked you out of Soul Society for that if you did go through with _it_."

Chuckling quietly, the Twelfth Taichou said in a low voice, "Maa, I'm so glad that you managed to remember after all this time. After all, it has been almost a hundred years now. I'm flattered."

"Don't be." Yoruichi snorted. She yawned and stretched to get the kinks out of her back. "It's nice to see you out of the Laboratory time to time. You should do it more often. Give or take another hundred years without seeing some sunlight and you'll really end up looking dead."

"How sweet! Yoruichi-san really cares about my well-being! I'm touched," Urahara fawned, dramatically snapping his fan open. After a minute's thought, his face turned serious as he stared into molten amber orbs. "If I told you that the reason I stopped my research was because I finished, what will you do?"

"Slap you silly and pretend that I didn't hear you. I really must be going now. I promised to visit Soi Fong today- some knit-knack social occasion. Care to join me?" The woman breezily dismissed Urahara's earlier comment and opened the sliding door, the sunlight streaming into the enclosed room.

"Well. . ." The Twelfth Captain pretended to carefully consider his options (Not that she was giving him any) as Yoruichi gripped him by his Captain's Haori and dragged him outside. It would be a lie to say that the sun didn't temporally blind him, and also he didn't look remarkably paler in contrast to the dark skinned woman- but he allowed himself to be lead by the Brigade of the First Division without compliant.

After all, even with all his powers- a woman scorned was much more frightening by ten fold.

- - - - - -

"And just how the hell am I supposed to beat that monster without my Shinigami powers you annoying Son-of-a-Bitch!" The Soul Reaper swore at his Captain while the girl below shrieked- that damn Hollow lunged for its meal as it missed. "I must be out of my mind. . ."

He jumped- from three stories up- and remarkably landed on the monster without going 'SPLAT!' against the pavement. Hanging on with for his dear life, the God of Death cursed in three different languages in one breath. If he had his hands free, he would have slapped his forehead. That stupid Brat wasn't running away!

"Calm down Karin. . . You're just seeing things. . ." The girl rationally told herself, stepping backwards away from what she could dimly see a freaking monster that wasn't there a few minutes ago. "There's no way. . ."

"Hey! You dumbass! What the hell are you doing? Run away!" The teen with the bleached hair roared, clinging onto the Hollow while being tossed up and down. It felt like he was riding a bull. The Monster turned to follow the girl, but this damn thing was on its back! "The hell you do!" Ichigo gritted his teeth together and kicked.

Karin having seen more then enough turned around and spirited as she could, not caring if she was really going in the right direction home. _This is insane! What's going on!_

Having the girl gone, Ichigo sighed in relief before being bucked off- flying thirty feet into the air wasn't how he was going to kill this Hollow, but it was a start. Landing on his feet with surprising grace, the teen dashed forward and began to form the necessary handseals for a Kidou spell.

"Dominator! Mask of flesh and blood all living beings, fluttering. That which has the name human. Truth and temperance. Slightly imbed your claws into the walls of innocent dreams. Destructive Art 33. Blue fireball!" Ichigo roared, firing a massive attack that was amplified by his enormous Reiatsu.

Sliding under the Hollow's legs, the orange haired boy smirked to himself the smoke billowed mysteriously around. "Well, that was easy. . . I can't believe that the Destructive Art spells are so cheesy though. . ." he muttered, remembering the first time he tired learning the spell. His cheeks turned red as Ichigo deadpanned.

"Ha, ha! I won't be defeated so easily! Foolish Shinigami! I shall devour that girl's soul and you'll be next!" The Hollow's legs scrabbled across the pavement and disappeared into the night, its disemboweled laughter mocking the Soul Reaper.

"WHAT THE HELL? GET THE HELL BACK HERE YOU STUPID HOLLOW!" Ichigo started running after the damn monster, immediately regretting not having the ease of being practically weightless in his Shinigami form. "I've. . . really . . . need to work out more. . ." He wheezed while following its destructive wake of chaos.

Karin finally slowed down and peered cautiously over her shoulder to see if the monster or that boy was following her. "What was that thing?" She breathed quietly to herself, still unable to stop shaking.

Badump.

Badump.

Badump.

Her heart pounded loudly in her ears as she whirled around to see a pair of eerie yellow eyes staring at her while a white porcelain mask wickedly leered down. Karin screamed, shutting her eyes- feeling its foul breath against her skin.

Hot red crimson blood splashed all over her face, but there was no pain. The young girl gasped in surprise when the boy with bleached hair stood in front of her, with that monster's teeth lodged firmly in his shoulder- as a steady blue aura glowed from the said source.

"Hey, little girl. . . You're okay, right?" He spoke with a deep voice, albeit unsteady. The blue glow around him started to glow brighter and brighter until it was practically unbearable to look; it was blinding to the eye. "Time for you to die Hollow. . ." He breathed deeply before mumbling an incantation and forming weird handseals with his free hand.

Blood pooled under his shoes, but he made no notice to the pain that he should be in. Karin paled at the amount of redness all around her- and her mouth refused to function properly (AKA: She couldn't scream).

"Destructive Art 33. Blue fireball!" Ichigo annihilated the Hollow away with his attack, leaving only cinders and smoke. The teen wearily slumped forwards and fell ungracefully on the asphalt road, watching the scarlet liquid stream from his painful and gaping wound and puddle around.

Great, he was going to die again for the second time (Can he die in a Gigai?), and he also had the girl to worry about. Maybe she could dismiss this as all a figment of her imagination? Oh no, he tired not to moan- the stupid brat was coming closer. What could possibly go wrong now?

Boom!

Drip. Drip. . .

Pitter-patter.

VOOSH!

Aw, it's starting to rain. . . Ichigo cursed his luck and his God Damn idiot of a Captain as the steady throb of pain in his shoulder worsened into an excruciating burning sensation. Chocolate orbs fluttered briefly before closing, the Soul Reaper falling into a swirling darkness that invited him to rest. Good, even the pain was going away now. . .

Karin's breathing had returned to normal, but her heart was still pounding against her chest. _This guy. . . and there was this Monster Mask thing. . . and he blew him up with a fireball!_ Her mind struggled to comprehend what just had happened. _And he got hurt when that Monster Mask tired to eat me and now he's dying. . ._

"KUSO! HE'S REALLY DYING!" Her eyes widened in shock and she gripped his shirt and started to drag him in the general direction of the Clinic. "C'mon, don't die on me! I haven't even thanked you for saving my life!" She blinked the rain out of her eyes, and as well as the tears.

At least the rain was doing some good- it was cleaning up the bloody mess.

To say that Kurosaki Isshin would be prepared when his daughter brought home her first boy would be the truth. To say that he had foreseen her bringing home a bloody mess of a dripping wet _teenager_ would be a big fat lie. He had expected more of a moonlit night with a romantic candlelight dinner and flowers- not a medical emergency. (Not that he would have let his precious daughter near a boy in the first place.)

"Oyaji! Help him! He's. . . He's. . ." Karin sounded frightened as well as near as panic-stricken. She wasn't even sure if he was still breathing! The girl allowed her father a whole three seconds to absorb what was going on before he burst into hysterics.

"OH NO! HE'S DYING! SOMEBODY GET HELP! IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE!" Isshin cried out, running into the kitchen. "MISAKI! THERE'S A DYING KID IN THE LIVING ROOM!"

The pretty woman, alarmed but remaining calm, took off her apron and hung it on the hook. "Anata, I need you to calm down. Yuzu! Yuzu, dear! I need you to prepare a bed in the clinic! Karin, honey. . ." She gave a startled gasp when she saw the patient- a horrible sensation of déjà vu made her knees weak. ". . . Set him down on the couch. . ."

"Kaasan? What's wrong?" The girl carefully put the bloody mess on the sofa, her heart skipping a beat. "What's going on?" She made no notice of her father- still running around like a headless chicken- and stared at her mother.

"That boy. . ." Masaki whispered, unable to continue. "Karin honey, doesn't he look. . ." The woman paled before Yuzu came down, distantly hearing her other daughter say that everything was ready. "Anata. . . please . . ."

Isshin finally calmed down enough to carry the orange-haired teen, as he gave his darling wife a funny look. He knew that his questions would be answered later and hefted the deadweight into the clinic section of their house.

"Kaasan, do you know him?" Yuzu asked quietly, slipping her hand into her mother's for comfort- she certainly looked like she needed it.

Shaking her head to clear her jumbled thoughts, Masaki quickly followed her husband. "Oh Yuzu. . . Doesn't he look like your brother?" She said breathlessly, afraid to admit to herself that this boy was not her son.

"Kaasan, you know that I can't remember Oniichan."

"Well, he might be your brother's ghost- he looks so much like him. . ."

". . . My brother's ghost?"


	3. A School for Shinigami

Eh… This chapter was supposed to be longer but I guess that it was kinda short now? I have no excuses other then school and other crap that piles up if you neglect it for a while…

Anyways, Misha! I haven't heard from you for a LONG time! Guess what? I'm officially stupid now! I missed four points on my Japanese Quiz! Gah! My brain cells are leaking!

Disclaimer: … I have nothing to say here…

-------

_Six years ago. . ._

Ichigo's stomach rumbled loudly, protesting that it was hungry and that he hadn't eaten for days. The little boy rubbed his tummy, wincing every time his belly lurched with hunger pains. His dull brown orbs listlessly watched the world go by, slumping against the wall- savoring the comforting shade given.

"Nee, I'm starving. . . Is this what heaven is supposed to be like? Kaachan said that everyone was happy, but I'm not. They don't even have chocolate here!" The child sighed, even his mouth felt cottony as he hadn't had anything to drink for a while either.

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably against the hard wall, wistfully longing for something edible- preferably other things rather then berries and nuts he found scrounging around in the outskirts of the woods. The pitiful look on his face twisted into a grimace of pain; no one shared his problem of needing to eat here- all except those few exceptional like himself.

He felt miserable- the family he had been staying with kicked him out as soon as they discovered that their newest addition to the household needed substantial food to stay alive- with no money he couldn't even buy piece of bread! Ichigo felt tears well up in his chocolate brown eyes. Was he going to perish in this forsaken place? He didn't want to die!

"There, there. . . Don't cry now. . ." A soothing hand patted his bright orange locks of hair, the voice belonging to a man. "You look like you need something to eat." The stranger had blonde hair that shone golden in the sun, each strand of glossy hair a silken shade of amber. His warm gray eyes sparkled with mirth as he offered his hand out to the boy.

Sniffling, Ichigo frowned and stubbornly replied, "I'm not crying! And I don't need your help! Kaachan said to never talk to strangers!" He stared at the hand- tempting as the offer was. The empty ache in his stomach agonizingly complained again, ripping up his insides. He started to cry- something the child had found himself doing more and more often nowadays.

"Maa, maa! Don't cry!" The man waved his hands frantically up and down, trying (but failing) to calm the wailing boy. "Yare, yare. . . what did I do wrong now?" Bending down so that he was at eye level with the lad, he scratched his head trying to piece together the puzzle. "Really, if it makes you that happy to stay hungry- be my guest. I'm not stopping you."

Ichigo's howling doubled, forcing the man to cover his ears.

"URAHARA KISUKE!" A woman materialized out of thin air (to those who didn't know she was the master of the Shyunshin) looking absolutely irritated and annoyed. "Just where the hell were you! You have half of Soul Society on the look out for the Twelfth Taichou!"

"My, my! If it isn't Yoruichi-san! What a pleasure meeting you here! How on earth did you manage to find me?" Urahara exclaimed in sugary sweet voice. The genuine look of surprise failed to work its charm as the petite woman's hand shot out and firmly locked onto his ear- twisting it every other way.

"As a _captain_ of the Twelfth Division, _you_ should know better! Honestly! Leaving so suddenly without so much as a note for a whole MONTH? Your entire squad was in chaos, especially when you don't even have a Vice Captain!" Yoruichi growled menacingly, a yowl rumbled at the back of her throat. "YOU had my entire Division of Special Opts running around looking for you, with ME as brigade of the whole damn group in the lead! Anything to say for yourself?"

Urahara latched onto Yoruichi, enveloping her in his arms. "And I missed you too, Yoruichi-san. You can cry in my arms now. . . OOWWWW!" The man whined, nursing the gigantic bump that protruded out from his head. "Why is Yoruichi-san so mean?"

The dark skinned woman snorted as she cracked her knuckles. "You were always the fool, Kisuke." However, Urahara's eyes didn't miss the way the corners of her mouth twitched into a ghost of a smile before scowling even deeper.

To this point, Ichigo was patently ignored- until the child finally wiped the last of his tears and calmed down enough to gawk at the unlikely couple. Shyly tugging on the man's sleeve, Ichigo mumbled, "I would like something to eat sir. . ." His cheeks heated up when he felt gray orbs carefully analyzing him from head to toe.

As cheerfully as he was a few minutes ago, Urahara clapped his hands together in delight. "Perfect! Would Yoruichi-san like to join us? Hmm? What should be eat? Yakisoba sounds good to me about now! Don't worry about paying! It's my treat!"

He never noticed the way Ichigo's eyes lit up at the word, 'treat'.

_Treat. . ._

_Treat. . . _

_Treat. . ._

Famous last words.

"HHYYYAAA! How can a little kid eat so much!" Urahra mourned the loss of his wallet as they walked out of the restaurant- about twenty bowls all stacked up neatly teetered precariously on the edge of the table.

Yoruichi snorted as they walked down the street. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" The woman's amber eyes sharply stared down into dark gray eyes. "That boy. . . do you really want him to be a Shinigami? He's far too young!"

"Eh? Yoruichi-san, don't get me wrong! Did you sense the enormous spirit energy that lay dormant inside him? His potential to become strong is mind-boggling! He will become a powerful Death God one day. . ." Urahara's eyes twinkled with mirth, laughing at his own joke that no one saw. He was just being Urahara Kisuke, no one understood him at times.

She sighed and knew that the matter on this was closed. She of all people knew just how obstinate this man could be. "If you say so. If you say so. . ."

- - - - -

"Whew… I'm not late… But that was close though!" Ichigo allowed himself to breath in relief. Several new students were milling around the gates, generally talking amongst one another. "There are sure a lot of people here… Are they all gong to be in my class?" The boy puzzled, walking past the entrance and the two signs posted on the smooth stone pillars. One read: Central Spirit Technique Institute, while the other was simply propped against the wall: Welcoming ceremony.

Nine year old Ichigo mutely followed the long train of students into a large and spacious building that looked awful familiar to his old school, except that some of the older sempai carried their nameless Soul Slayers around and the building was more elaborately decorated with intricate designs and it smelled like a library. Yes a library- old musty books caked with a hundred year old layer dust.

The child felt a tad ridiculous, his blue and white uniform was two sizes too bigger and his sleeves kept on slipping. Ichigo nearly cried out loud when he tripped over the hem of his Hakama, running into the backside of a bigger and older student. "I-I'm sorry!"

The older pupil grunted and ignored the boy. Ichigo breathed a sigh of relaxation, he wasn't going to get yelled at after all. Suddenly, the slow moving line exploded into a whirling mass of bodies all trying to reach their new assigned classrooms- poor Ichigo was caught in the rip tide. "Help me!" he squeaked, but no one even noticed a child stuck behind the backside of a much bigger and bulkier student.

"Welcome new students. Our Central Spirit Technique is an academic institution with a long tradition of creating future Secret Mobile Corps and its thirteen court guardian squad members." The instructor drawled monotonously, standing behind a desk as the entire class listened with eerie silence.

Ichigo's hair was disheveled and messy- he was dragged along at least down four hallways before the crowd thinned enough for him to escape. The brown-eyed child felt ludicrous- his feet were left dangling a good fourteen inches above the ground as his chin barely brushed against the top of the counter. No more than his mop of bright hair peeked up- he could barely see over the stupid desks!

"I want you all to apply yourselves everyday so that you are not embarrassed by this tradition. I am your primary instructor, Oounabara Gengorou. This freshman class 1 is a so-called special advanced class where are gathered those who achieved the most exemplary scores on the exam." The sensei's glasses reflected brightness from the fluorescent lighting (though it baffled many because the Shinigami didn't have any electricity) looking quite proud of himself- resembling a peacock or maybe a satisfied, fat Panda . . . (In Ichigo's opinion.)

"In order for you men and women to become not only members of various squads, but eventually the death gods on top thereof, I hope you will do your best in training." He finished; pompously his chest swelled twice the size it was before. Maybe it was that most of HIS students ended up graduating and earning very high seats within a division, and somehow he was credited for their success.

Ichigo sighed wistfully as he stared out the window, watching the clouds float by. The sky was the same here as it was back on earth. . . his soft chocolate orbs took on a nostalgic glaze. For a second, it felt like he was back at school with Tatsuki while they passed notes when the teacher wasn't looking. Then they would stand outside the hall together, Tatsuki refusing to as so much as look at him for getting them both in trouble. Later, she would kick his ass in karate to sate her revenge against him. After their lessons they would talk again.

"KUROSAKI! ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION!"

"WWWAAAHHHHH!"

"All right! Row one! Step forward," said the instructor, watching his students with a careful eye. Last time, a stupid student by the name of Abrai Renji blew himself up as well as the entire class- god only knows how he ever managed to earn the rank of a Vice Captain!

Ichigo's stomach did a nervous three sixty and flopped over. Just what the hell was he supposed to say anyways? At first he thought that the incantation was just some long and silly joke- Ye Lord of something and yadda- (Who would say such old fashioned language like that?) and regarded it as the teacher having a sense of humor. He never bothered to learn the Kidou spell.

"Ye Lord, Mask of blood and flesh, all creation. Flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man. Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges. March on to the south! Destruction spell number 31! Red Flame Cannon!"

Only a successful handful of his classmates fired a massive amount of Reiatsu that totally demolished the designated targets several meters away. Ichigo frantically looked around him and panicked when he was the only one who hadn't tried, wilting under the teacher's waiting eyes.

"Err. . . Ye Lord. . . Um, The man marches into the sea barrier. . . Inferno of blood and flesh! Eh. . . flying wings to the south? Destruction spell number. . . 41! Firing Red Cannon ball!" Ichigo stuttered through his spell, waiting for something to happen. He looked expectantly at his hand- nothing happened. It didn't even glow!

"Kurosaki. . ." The instructor sighed, tapping his pencil against the clipboard. "Did you even read through the Kidou? I'm afraid at the rate you're going, you might be dropped from this class. . ."

Ichigo dejectedly blinked away the tears in his eyes; suddenly his hand became unbearably hot and bright red spirit energy leaked from the source. "W-What's going on!" He cried, squeezing his eyes shut. There was stunned silence as the last of the smoke cleared away for them to gawk at the charred training grounds; not even a single target left standing- ashes blowing away in the unnatural wind that had unexpectedly picked up.

"Err, Sensei. . . I won't get in trouble for this, will I?" Ichigo laughed nervously, backing away very slowly. He tensed his muscles just in case the man DID decide to blow up. Was it just him, or did the instructor develop a spasmodic eye twitch that just wouldn't go away?

"KU-RO-SA-KI!" The teacher grated his name painfully, the c_lipboard_ snapping in half. The man menacingly loomed over the quivering child, his face flashed up chilling rage that exploded into a millions shards of hot embers.

"WWWAAAAHHHHHH!"


	4. After the Rain

Yay! Another chapter!

I have nothing to say in the matter- It's my own fault for not updating. XD

Disclaimer: Bleach is mine- in my own dreams.

- - - -

"Uggh…" Ichigo moaned, the intense throbbing in his head made it seem as if someone was in there pounding his skull in with a hammer over and over and over. . . "Goddamnit!" He growled, prying one eye open. Oh heavens, it was so hard to- just what in the hell had made him possibly act so stupidly?

"I'm glad that you're awake."

"GAAAHH!" Ichigo yelped, jumping three feet into the air. He noticed for the first time that someone had undressed him and a good portion of his upper body was covered in bandages and he was staring up at a very familiar ceiling . . . "Wh-what are you doing here? And I'm not DRESSED FOR GOD'S SAKE!" The Shinigami did best with the covers, however he didn't feel very menacing being half-naked in front of a silly schoolgirl.

Giving him a blank look, Karin snorted. "I LIVE here, you idiot. Now, you've got some explaining to do, Mister!" She slyly smiled, much to Ichigo's unease she looked exactly as the third captain on his good days. The girl stubbornly crossed her arms together and made a fair imitation of Rukia when she wanted something; preferably in the next breath you took. "Just what the hell was that monster! And how'd the hell you shoot a fireball out of your hands?"

The orange-haired youth made an effort not to groan. Jadedly he pointed at his jeans, an arms reach away and mutely the girl handed the pants to him. Fishing around his pockets for the cell phone and memory chikan. "Oy, little girl. Look at me for a second." He held up the memory-erasing device and pressed the button. It made weird noises and the antenna wiggled for a minute, but other then that, nothing happened.

However, the slightly glazed look in Karin's dark eyes convinced him of otherwise.

"Hey, little girl. . . So do you remember?" He asked, hiding the chikan and cell phone under the covers. His dark brown orbs narrowed at the prospect of being ripped off by his own captain if the stupid thing didn't work- he paid good money for his equipment! ". . . Can you hear me?"

Terse silence stretched for what seemed like an eternity before Karin burst out in a series of rapid sentences. "Oh my God! There was a rampaging rhino that was chasing me and then the firefighters had to come but they only shot fire into the buildings! The rhino knocked down some houses and then it flew away!"

Ichigo stared blankly at the girl for a good second, and then stared back at the Chikan device. The girl and then the device. Girl, device. Girl, device. _What the hell? This thing just makes it worse!_ He thought, his face forcing itself with another smile. "Yeah. . . Good one kid. So you really don't remember?"

"I told you! The flying rhino came and then-"

"Honey! Please don't pester the patient when he just woke up."

Both heads turned and standing at the door, was Masaki Kurosaki. Daintily inspecting Ichigo's wounds she didn't notice the fish-like look that her patient was giving her. "There! If you keep still, then those cuts will heal nicely." Her pretty eyes sparkled vibrantly at the bleached haired Shinigami, her lips drawn back for a half-smile.

Awkwardly, Ichigo muttered some choice words saying that it wasn't necessary and tried to swing himself out of bed. "Seriously. . . Uh _Lady_, I have to go. Err, thanks for patching me up and all. . ." He started to walk barefooted to the exit, albeit unsteady but still walking.

"AND WHERE ARE YYYYOOUUU GOING DEAR PATIENT?" Isshin tackled the teen with the grace of a charging bull, effectively knocking his head against the tiled floor. "We of the Kurosaki Clinic cannot allow our patients to leave in such bad shape! Therefore! YOU. ARE. NOW. BEING. RESTRICTED. TO. BED!"

"Oyaji. . . I think you killed him." Karin deadpanned, casually leaning against the wall. She tucked her baseball cap backwards and took off the apron that she wore whenever she worked at the Clinic. "Kaasan, what's for dinner anyways?"

Suddenly animated, Ichigo jumped to his feet and started to yell. "WHAT THE HELL, OLD MAN! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TRYING TO SEND ME TO THE AFTERLIFE?" He reached for his jacket, getting his bandaged arm through the sleeves was work enough. "Thanks and all again. Put this on my tab."

_If there's a God, he must have a sick and twisted sense of humor._ Ichigo grimly scowled, using all his will power not to turn around and stare at his mother again. She was just as he remembered, although there were some unnoticeable strands of gray hair mixed with her orange. He missed her- that much he admitted. He missed her gentle and kind touch, her soft laughter. . . everything. However, he was a Shinigami now and that changed everything!

"This is silly. We don't even know your name. I'm Kurosaki Masaki and this is my husband Isshin. And this little girl is Karin, and Yuzu should be in the other room." Masaki spoke, effectively freezing Ichigo in his tracks. "And you are?"

"Eh?" Ichigo's brain worked hard to come up with an efficient name. He couldn't come out and announce that he was temporary raised from the dead. No, no, that would be bad. Imagine: _Hi. I'm your dead son, Ichigo. What's up Mom?_ "Ku. . . Chiki Ichi. . . Maru. Nice to meet you." Spluttered the Vice-captain, sweating bullets.

_If THEY **EVER** find out, I am SO dead. But then again, how the hell are they ever going to find out?_ Ichigo envisioned Byakuya, Rukia, and the Third Captain looming over a chibi of him ten times their original size with flames shooting from the background. Shivering, he vowed to NEVER let ANYONE from Soul Society know about this.

"_You dare impose upon the noble Kuchiki name?"_

"_ICHIGO!"_

"_Yare, Yare. . . Now what's this all 'bout? Taking on my name, eh?"_

Smiling, the woman somehow ushered the boy back to bed. "We haven't decided what the causes were of your wounds, so I cannot allow you to leave yet." She gave him a small smile and pulled the covers over him.

Ichigo sighed and decided that things were always too troublesome for him. "I. . ." He started to talk, only to have Isshin interrupt him.

"Oh no, Kuchiki Ichimaru-kun! We would be irresponsible to just let you flaunt out of here! What will the other people say? Gasp! We will house you, feed you, send you to school until you are deemed by ME! The magnificent doctor of this Clinic! That you are a hundred percent, tip-top order!" He boomed happily, smacking the upside of Ichigo's head. "AND this will all be sent on a bill to you later on!"

Dead silence reigned for a span of three seconds.

"Oyaji, he's dead."

"WHAT!"

- - - - -

"This is so stupid." Ichigo muttered, walking around his new school. "How the hell is someone supposed to find anything here? It's too big!" He fumbled around for the sheet of paper scribbled with the room number, squinting at the messy handwriting. "B-4? Where the hell's that? I'm I even on the right floor?" The disgruntled Shinigami muttered, craning his neck around looking at the different room numbers.

BAM!

"Ahh!" A girl walking with her friend crashed to the ground, dragging Ichigo with her. Unfortunately for her, she was carrying books and all her papers scattered around. "Oh no! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She cried, scrambling around to retrieve her papers. "Are you all right? I didn't mean to run into you!"

"Orihime! Don't apologize! That jerk's the one that crashed into you!" Her friend growled menacingly, abruptly standing up to her full height. Her eyes flashed with untamed anger until her brain registered the perpetrator's face. Gasping, she couldn't believe her eyes! It wasn't possible! "Ichigo?" The girl breathed daring to believe for a second that the dead can come back to life.

The said so teen blinked, wondering how the hell could anyone could recognize him until her name resurfaced within his head. Karate girl. The one that kicked his ass every time on the dojo mats- Arisawa Tatsuki. "Eh, sorry who?" He feigned stupidity, pretending act sheepish. Helping the other girl, Orihime was it? He apologized and walked away (Quickly), leaving his childhood friend behind with the ginger-haired female.

"Tatsuki-chan, who was that person?" Inoue asked, gathering up the last of her things. "Do you know him?" They headed towards their classroom, which was only a few doors down.

Dully shaking her head, Tatsuki gave a fake laugh. "Of course not! He just looked like a friend of mine from a long time ago. . ." She thoughtfully recalled that the last time she beat his little ten-year-old butt in Karate and he promptly burst into tears after that. _Yeah, that was funny. Some man he was! What kind of guy started crying after being whooped by a girl!_ The girl deadpanned, propping her hands under her chin.

"Class, today we have two new students. Please come in!" Their teacher announced, hushing the class. She stood up and waited for the door to slide open. Silence crept by the seconds, and very distinctively they heard arguing in the background.

"Just what the HELL are you doing here!"

"For the same reason you're attending this human education facility!"

"It's not a 'human education facility!' It's called a school for your information! And who sent you?"

"Hush! Do you want them to overhear?"

"Me? You're the one screaming at me!"

"You're the one who's raising their voice!"

The door slid open, as the teacher had enough and the two stumbled ungracefully into the room, still hissing offhand remarks. "Ahem. These are out new transfer students, Kuchiki Rukia and Kuchiki Ichimaru. Please welcome them as they will be with us for the rest of the year. Now, would you like to introduce yourselves?"

"Huh?" Ichigo was never the person for large crowds, and thus he was never the greatest public speaker. But really, what could he say? That he was from the afterlife and he liked playing with swords? He was on a mission to stop all Hollows from killing everybody in the human world? He was living with his family who thinks that he's dead? Great, now what? He stole a quick look of how Rukia was faring- she was _sparkling_ for kami's sake!

"Hello everyone. My name is Kuchiki Rukia and it is so nice to meet you. I hope we can get to know each other very well in the future." She even curtsied! The smug look on her face seemed to mock Ichigo; his Vice-captain rank be damned! The teacher directed her to a window seat and everyone waited for Ichigo's little introduction.

Swallowing hard, the orange-haired Shinigami stammered, "Err. . . nice to meet you all. . ." _This is awkward. _He thought, edging for the nearest empty desk. Secretly, he stole a look towards Rukia who had a forced smile on her face that was getting strained. _And I have to explain about my new name too, damn it._

After getting reacquainted with the educational system that he had been missing for years, Ichigo (much to his horror) discovered that he was (terribly) behind everyone else and his (best) subject was (sadly) physical education. He didn't have a good chance to talk with Rukia yet, and her constant eye twitches that she gave him whenever the teacher or a classmate referred to him as Kuchiki Ichimaru-kun was starting to piss him off.

Rukia wasn't the only one eying him the entire time either. Tatsuki was also giving him suspicious glances too from period to period. Feeling a headache, the young man wanted to cut class already- thank the Gods when lunchtime rolled around.

Slamming his hands on her desk, he growled irritably. "Just. What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing. H. E. R. E. . ." Dark chocolate brown eyes narrowed into slits that wasn't going to just take no for an answer. He had been (non-officially) kicked out of Soul Society to hunt down Hollows that have yet to appear on the radar screen, which seemed to be some kind of twisted joke when he couldn't even get out of this stupid gigai!

Offering a hand out which he saw that she had scribbled something on there that read: _Say something and I'll kill you_. "My, my Kuchiki-san! What a strange coincidence of names! And you said that your first name was Ichimaru? That sounds so familiar to me. . ."

_You bet it does._ Ichigo thought sullenly, finding himself agreeing with her. After all, two completely new students with the same last name- he was SO going to kill Urahara later- should be on friendly terms with each other for politeness sake.

A boy with slicked back hair politely introduced himself as Kojima and sat down at an empty desk next to them. "Say, do you two know each other? You guys do have the same family name."

"Oy, get outta here." Ichigo grumped purposefully ignoring Rukia's patented death glare, secretly enjoying himself knowing that he was pissing her off. "This isn't any of your business."

"Are you two cousins?"

"No."

"Distant relatives?"

"No."

"Hmm, then the only logical choice is that you two are lovers." Kojima tapped his chin thoughtfully, giving Ichigo a sly smile. "I bet you two eloped! How romantic! Two young lovers caught up in a society of hate and dispute! Oh no, Kuchiki-san is clearly out of my reach- a pity for she has the loveliest eyes."

He couldn't take it anymore. "FOR THE LAST TIME! RUKIA AND I AREN'T LOVERS! YOU THINK I'M THE TYPE OF GUY TO ENLOPE? IT'S JUST A FREAK'N coincidence THAT WE JUST HAVE A SIMILAR LAST NAME!"

"Rukia? Wow, I didn't know that you guys were on first name terms. You must be really close then."

As if by a godsend, Ichigo's cell phone rang- instantly he met Rukia's deep violet gaze. A Hollow. "Look, I have to go to the bathroom." Ichigo growled, getting to his feet. Just how the hell was he going to use a Zanpaktou? He hurried to the door, and distinctively he heard Rukia making the same excuse.

Finally in the recluse of behind the gym, Ichigo stubbornly squared his shoulders and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "All right spill it. What's really going on here? Did Slipper Hat send you?" He could almost imagine the blonde haired man joyfully asking for Kuchiki Rukia and shipping her off to the human world with a snap of his fan.

"Yes. I am to assist you. Since you did not have the foresight to buy Soul Candy, I'll just have to do this!" She pulled on a glove with a skull and punched _through_ his chest, effectively pushing out his Shinigami form.

Giving her a wry grin, Ichigo stretched his arms. "I bet you that he ran out. C'mon, let's go slay a Hollow. I need to vent out some pent up stress." He cocked his head to the side, staring at Rukia. "Aren't you going to come with me?"

"Well I . . ."

"Oh let me guess, you don't have any Soul Candy either? Geeze, this is gonna be a problem. I guess there's no choice then." He plucked the glove with the skull out of her hand and slipped it on his with a bit of difficulty. Doing the same that she did to him a few seconds earlier, he grinned at Rukia.

Coming up to Ichigo's height by tugging on his ear, she slapped his head. "Idiot! And just what do we do with the faux bodies? Some human might just come along and see us! Oh no! Two students unconscious on the ground! Gasp! Use your head for once!"

"Fine, fine!" Ichigo dragged the bodies over to the shed and fumbled with the latch. "Just help me get this lock open and we'll just stuff them here for the time being." The orange-haired youth briefly enjoyed the peeved scowl that Rukia gave him- it meant that she wasn't mad enough to send him to bloody hell (yet). "Anyways, what do you know about modern human society?"

The two hid the gigai behind the basketballs and track hurdles. Ichigo was pretty sure that no one would find the bodies but just in case he covered tarp over the 'sleeping' Ichigo and Rukia gigais and dusted his hands in satisfaction.

"What do you mean? I know plenty!" Rukia defended herself, jumping up into the air. "Like human children must go to these educational teaching facilities and those metal moving things are. . . cars. . ." She slowly pronounced the foreign words, modern marvels that were magic.

Ichigo snorted, mentally turning over a funny thought- but does she know how to open juice packs? He relished the flying sensation when he leapt into the air, being stuck in a physical body made him feel trapped somehow. The orange-head wondered why Rukia wasn't taking this perfect opportunity to berate him of his newfound name. "Hey, are we even going in the right direction?"

"Well _Vice-Captain_, I thought that your ability to sense reiatsu surpassed mine!" Rukia smirked; she liked to watch Ichigo's ears turn red when he was embarrassed- it was something that she found adorable with him ever since she met the boy.

"Rukia! You know that I suck at that!" Growled Ichigo grudgingly, his pride was a bit sore even after all these years. "Now tell me if that damn Hollow is nearby. Lunch ends in thirty minutes and I don't want to explain to the teachers exactly why they found my body in the PE shed with you."

"Would that be such a big deal?"

He gave her a look of disbelief. "Are you serious? They would have us expelled for God's sake- not to mention it would be all over the news!" Ichigo landed on the next building gracefully, his feet smacking against the terra cotta tiles, satisfyingly filling the growing silence in between them. The wind whistled loudly in his ears while he ran, his bright orange hair sweeping back.

Once his bangs parted, one could see a tiny scar- barely noticeable to the naked eye marking a small niche near his forehead. Just a few years into the Shinigami Academy, he was sent on a training trip with a group of three led by an experienced Death God. On a foolish mistake on his part, as well as a near death experience, he had been wounded near his left eye. Unohana-Taichou said that a new inches lower and he would had lost half his vision.

"Hey, there it is. It doesn't really look all that impressive you know?" Ichigo said, drawing out his enormous Zanpaktou deftly with practiced ease. Increasing his pace by three more strides, the boy shot ahead. "Oy! Take this, you bastard!"

Rukia was greatly surprised when Ichigo pulled ahead almost effortlessly. _Since when did he become so much faster?_ When she had finally caught up with the other Shinigami, Ichigo's sword had cleaved the Hollow in neat bloody pieces. She knew that Ichigo's promotion to Vice-captain was justly earned through hard work and skill, but before she could easily keep pace with him- even when the said so Shinigami decided to speed up.

Ichigo grimly scanned the area around him, his dark eyes finally stopping on the soul of a little kid looking very much like a ghost of his former self years ago- pardon the pun. Silently he wondered if Rukia felt the way he was feeling right now as he stared at the kid who looked like he was going to burst into tears.

Pity.

Sympathy.

But mostly pity.

It made him sick.

Bending down so that he was at eyelevel with the teary-eyed child, his stern face softened considerably. "You know brat, if you don't want to be afraid like that ever again, then just move on to the afterlife." The sword innocently gleamed in the sunlight, the smooth metal blade reflecting blue-gray waves: the best forged metal that can ever exist.

"But I'm scared!"

A far away look settled in chocolate orbs, Ichigo was painfully aware of the night that he had died. He was scared too, back then. . . and he still was- a smirk twitched upwards at the shaking kid. "Idiot. What's there to be afraid of? You can't live out your entire existence in fear, got that? There's a time to grow up and stop being such a coward! Now go on to the afterlife already!" Ichigo slammed the hilt of his Zanpaktou and performed a burial ritual, the soft blue glow coming out of nowhere illuminated his pale face.

"Ichigo. . ." Rukia softly said, her vibrant violet eyes softening at the orange-headed Shinigami. It was hard to tell what kind of emotion he was reflecting, turmoil swirled within those dark brown eyes clashing with every other pitying feeling out there. "Let's go back. It's getting late, and we might miss class."

"Yeah," he listlessly said and gave a last parting look at where the spirit used to be. "We just might. . Hey Rukia, go on without me. I'll catch up in a few minutes. There's something I have to do."

_I didn't want to leave this park, cause it was then I realized that this was the same park that my mom and I used to play when I was younger. It was kind of ironic- the situation I mean. _

Since he was in his Shinigami form, the average person couldn't see or hear him so there wouldn't be any suspicious questions about why he was just sitting in a swing rocking himself back and forth and not at school.

Masaki was walking home with a bag of groceries in her arms. Every morning, she would stop by at the park and sit on the swing sets just to remember. It was her way of remembering. It was always sad to come here by herself- but she couldn't bear to bring Karin and Yuzu when they were little. Not without breaking down in tears for her baby boy.

His mother unknowingly sat in the swing next to him and began to rock herself back and forth. "Oh Ichigo, how I remember you playing here. That seems so long ago. I must be getting so old now. If you were here, next to me that would make me the happiest person in the world."

He flinched, and stayed very still in his swing seat. There wasn't any wind and it would be weird if they were moving on its own. "Then be happy, I'm right here Kaachan. That's right, I'm back from the dead. But you can't see me like this- you can't ever know that your son's returned home. You know, I've really missed you. And Soul Society has crappy cooking." He looked up to the sky; the bright endless blue was hurting his eyes and everything started to blur together.

"If you could hear me Ichigo, I love you very much. There is a boy who looks just like you who came to our clinic. . . He could be you if you had not. . . Oh dear, I'm crying again. Silly me. I promised to stop being so sad." Masaki sighed, wiping her face with her sleeve. "Well, I better get going then. Isshin will probably call the police again if I'm gone too long."

Her swing was empty again, and her receding back was getting smaller by the second. "Kaachan. . ." He stood up and forced his head to turn away from her. No, he wasn't crying- honestly he wasn't: it was time that he had accepted the fact that it was time to move on. For the first time in many years, it stopped raining.

And he liked that.


End file.
